10/22/2012

The old comment host has shut down. I downloaded all of the old comments in a single file. Does anyone know how to easily import comments in a format that will automatically attach each one to the relevant post?

When Baltimore native Elli Fischer drove past Modi'in's Anabeh Park
during the Sukkot festival this week, he witnessed firsthand an
ultra-Orthodox couple being denied entry due to a controversial new policy that restricts holiday admission to local residents.

Fischer, himself a Modi'in resident, stopped his car and arranged to
have the family of five admitted as his guests - but not before arguing
with park officials.

"The policy is nothing but thinly veiled anti-Haredi bigotry," Fischer,
a writer, translator and ordained rabbi, chided the park officials.

Last week, before the onset of the seven-day Sukkot festival, the
Modi'in-Maccabim-Reut municipality decided to close the popular park to
nonresidents of the three communities in its jurisdiction, citing
"overcrowding." It's the latest volley in a saga that has pitted the
municipality against the mayor of the neighboring Haredi community of
Modi'in Illit, Yaakov Gutterman, who recently announced that its
archaeological sites would be closed to non-Haredi visitors.

Fischer, 36, suggests the new policy is linked to an incident that
occurred in the park during this year's observance of Passover, when a
female performer at a concert was asked to step off the stage by Haredi
members of the audience.

Nothing, he says, can justify the exclusion of citizens - a principle
to which many among Modi'in's burgeoning Anglo community are
particularly sensitive, he explains. "Americans in particular grew up
with the legacy of the fight for civil rights as a part of our cultural
DNA," said Fischer, who invoked the images of separate water fountains
for blacks and whites in the United States. "I think it very much
affects the way that we relate to issues of discrimination and bigotry,
whether it's against Haredim, Arabs or African migrants."

10/04/2012

For those not following along at home, my fair hometown of Modiin has barred non-residents from visiting its spacious and beautiful Anabe Park during vacations and on Hol Ha-Mo'ed. This is a result of a pishing contest between Modiin's Mayor Haim Bibas and Modi'in Ilit's Mayor Yaakov Guterman, plus it plays into a strong anti-Haredi (and occasionally anti-religious) sentiment amongst a minority of Modiin residents (a political party, Modiin Hofshit, ran on an anti-religious platform and got only a few hundred votes for city council).

The new policy upsets me greatly, and I wanted to see how the policy was being implemented generally. As I got in line to enter the park, I could see that a few cars ahead of me the line was being held up by a Haredi family insisting on entering the park. Since the new regulations allow for Modiin residents to bring guests, I went and invited the family in as my guests. After a while, the guards let us in on that basis. Serendipitously, a reporter from Haaretz was there at the time. Her report is here (Hebrew) and here (English - paywall). The paragraphs relevant to my story are:

As the argument continued, a Modi’in resident, Eli Fischer, decided to see
whether everyone was really being barred from the park, or only those in
ultra-Orthodox garb.

“He’s my guest, let him in,” said Fischer, in an effort to help Tirnauer, at
first without success. The guards checked Fischer’s identity card, and then
started questioning Tirnauer and his family about their relationship. One of
the ushers called a municipal security guard to help.

“He’s not really your guest, he’s here to make a provocation,” the security
guard told Fischer. But Fischer persisted after the getting approval of his
superiors the security guard allowed Fischer and his new acquaintances into the
park.

“The park is empty, and I wanted to see what would happen, since according
to the instructions that were publicized, [the park] is reserved for Modi’in
residents and their guests,” said Fischer. “I don’t know why they were
questioning me.”

The municipality said that the confrontation involving Tirnauer and Fischer
was the first to occur since the instructions were issued, claiming it was a
planned provocation by the media.
“During all the days that entrance to the park was restricted, there wasn’t
a single incident, except for one in which a visitor who isn’t a city resident
came with a reporter to create a provocation and get a headline,” the
municipality said.

The Hebrew version also includes a Gemara that I cited for the benefit of the reporter, from Sukkah 27b:
"All Israel are fit to dwell in a single sukkah."